


River of Dreams

by gmariam19 (gmariam)



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dubious Medical Technique, Fluff, Humor, Injured Poe Dameron, Kissing, M/M, POV Finn (Star Wars), Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Pre-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Space idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:47:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23649451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gmariam/pseuds/gmariam19
Summary: "How do you know I'm not serious?""Because you're not.""Maybe I am," Poe says."People don't make out when they're injured and on the run," Finn tells him, and Poe smiles."We do."Finn, Poe, a tall cliff, a raging river, and maybe a kiss.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 14
Kudos: 120





	River of Dreams

River of Dreams

It's as if it happens in slow motion: one moment Poe is wrestling with the First Order officer, the next moment they tumble off the side of the cliff into the river below. It's not a deadly drop, but it's high enough, and there's no way to know how many rocks are down there, how deep the water is, how fast the river is moving. Finn shouts Poe's name and finishes off the woman he's fighting, taking her out with a hard hit to the jaw.

More troopers clamber up the rocky incline behind him, and it occurs to Finn that the only way out might be the cliff. How the hell did they get themselves trapped anyway? Rey is near the edge, putting down troopers with her staff. "Rey!" Finn shouts. "Poe went over, we need to go!" He runs toward the edge, shouting into his comm for Chewie to bring the _Falcon_ down river to pick them up. Then he grabs Rey's hand, and they jump over the edge, plummeting feet first into the cold water below.

It knocks the breath out of him, and he swims quickly to the surface, gasping and sputtering. Finn desperately hopes Poe survived the unplanned fall and managed to get to the shore somewhere. The river is wide, though, the water is moving fast _,_ and Poe has a head start on them. Finn scans the area, keeping an eye out for Poe as he moves with the current, trying to sense the other man with the strange feeling inside him he still refuses to name. Something tingles in the back of his mind, and he looks to his right, sees a large rock near shore. There is a man clinging to it, his head down, eyes closed.

"Poe!" he shouts, and swims with frantic strokes against the current to get to the rock. Rey is too far ahead of him to help, and he plows through the water alone, determined to get to his friend. Poe is unconscious when Finn manages to make it to the rock. Fortunately, it is not far from the shore. Finn wraps his arm around Poe's chest, hugging him close, swimming backward and kicking hard until he can stand, then struggling through weeds and rocks to pull them both from the cold water.

They collapse on the hard ground. Finn stares at the sky, gasping in air, trying to calm his racing heart and relax his aching muscles. He hopes Rey is managing the river, or that she made it back to the _Falcon_ and finds them soon, but he is more worried about Poe. He turns the other man to his side and water dribbles from his mouth. Listening closely, Finn is not sure Poe is breathing, and tries to remember his training.

He places Poe on his back, tilts his head back, leans down to breath into his mouth. He feels Poe's chest rise once, twice, waits and tries again. Poe's lips are cold against his, but soft and full. Finn stops, hating that he's thinking about Poe that way when he could be dying. And yet, he's thought about it before. Several times, especially since the cantina bombing. He can't lose him now.

Finn places his hand on Poe's chest, relieved to feel a faint heartbeat, but still not sure if he feels the rise and fall of his breath. He leans down to give Poe more air, and suddenly…he's not breathing for Poe, he's kissing him, or rather, Poe is kissing him. Slow but sure, definitely a kiss, and Finn can't help but return it, until he realizes what he's doing and pulls back fast.

Poe's eyes snap open, and his arm flies up, hand in a fist, catching Finn on the jaw. Not hard, but he's already leaning awkwardly over Poe, and he falls backward to the ground with a grunt as Poe gasps and sits up, scrambling away, wild-eyed and confused.

"What the hell happened?" he huffs out. He looks around, frantically studying his surroundings, then meets Finn's eyes. "Were you just kissing me?"

Poe is clearly shaking, still confused, so Finn moves closer, hoping to calm him. "You fell in the river, and you weren't breathing," he tells him. "I was trying to help, and then _you_ were kissing _me_!"

"I was unconscious!" Poe exclaims.

"Trust me, I don't kiss unconscious people." Finn rubs his jaw, although it doesn't hurt and there won't even be a bruise. "Like I don't hit people who save my life."

"I hit you?"

"Yeah, and your right hook is better when you're unconscious," Finn tells him, trying to keep a straight face when Poe frowns.

"Kriff, Finn, I'm sorry." He leans back on his hands, then collapses on his back and coughs, one arm hugging his abdomen. "Oh, stars, that hurts."

Finn leans over him again, wanting to check him for injuries, not sure about touching him after getting hit in the face. "What hurts?" he asks. "How can I help?"

Poe lays there with his eyes closed. "Kiss me again," he finally says, so quiet that Finn isn't sure whether he means it, or if he doesn't have enough energy to joke around like he usually does.

"Seriously?" Finn huffs, sits back again. "You fall off a cliff and almost die, and that's what you're on about? You're delusional."

"And you're a good kisser," Poe says, and this time Finn can hear the play in the other man's voice. Poe smiles, and Finn shakes his head.

"Come on, we need to get … I don't know, somewhere. Under cover where the First Order won't see us, until the _Falcon_ tracks us down."

"Chewie?" Poe asks, but he makes no move to get up, and Finn frowns.

"On his way." He shakes Poe's shoulder. "Poe, let's move. I don't like being exposed right next to the river."

Poe sighs, and Finn realizes that he's in a lot of pain, and now he's worried. He helps the other man sit, then stand, and Poe practically clings to him, clutching his left side, his breathing labored.

"You okay?" Finn asks him quietly.

"Ribs," Poe replies. "Although maybe if you were to kiss it better…" He trails off with a labored breath, gives him a crooked smile.

"You must have a concussion, too," Finn tells him. He guides Poe up a small hill to a copse of trees, out of direct view of the water and anyone that may be following them down the river. North of them, the land continues to rise into low mountains far behind them; it's quite beautiful, even if they did plummet from one. Poe leans against a tree and shakes his head.

"How do you know I'm not serious?"

"Because you're not."

"Maybe I am," Poe says.

"People don't make out when they're injured and on the run," Finn tells him, and Poe smiles.

"We do," he says. He sinks to the ground, back against the tree, eyes closed. "Although last time you were the one with the broken ribs."

"Wait—what?" Finn asks. He's trying to keep an eye out—for more First Order troops, for the _Falcon—_ but hurries over to Poe. "Stay with me, buddy. What are you talking about? What do you mean, last time?"

"Last time we kissed like this," Poe says. He opens his eyes. "You know, after that cantina blast. On the _Falcon."_

Finn stares at him, thinking back to that mission, months ago. But they hadn't kissed…had they? He'd been caught in an explosion, and Poe had literally dragged him out. Poe had also filled in the gaps in his memory, when Finn had woken up confused, unable to remember why they had even been there. Maybe he hadn't told Finn everything.

"Why did we kiss on the _Falcon_?" he asks.

"You were having trouble breathing," Poe says. He shrugs, then winces. "Oh, bad idea, moving. Anyway, you were panicking, you had several broken ribs, and you couldn't breathe. So I helped you."

"By kissing me?" It does sound like something Poe would do.

"And you don't even remember," Poe says. "It was a good kiss, too." He frowns. "Why does one of us have to be injured every time? Why can't it happen on a nice, boring day instead of a life-or-death day?"

Finn honestly can't tell if Poe is in shock and babbling, or actually in control of his words. Either way, it occurs to him that Poe's question is a very good question. He sits down next to Poe, takes his hand for support; Poe squeezes his fingers tight, and Finn thinks he must be hurting to cling so hard.

"Are you going to kiss me again?" Poe asks.

"I don't know if you're quite up for it," Finn tells him. "Or if you really mean it."

Poe huffs out a frustrated breath that leaves him coughing. When he stops, he turns his head toward Finn. "I may not be up for it," he says softly, his eyes mostly on Finn's lips. "But I mean it. I always do with you, Finn."

And Finn can't help himself, he presses forward and captures Poe's lips in a passionate kiss, relishing in the soft sound Poe makes, the way his other hand comes up to hook around the back of Finn's head. It feels much better than when Poe was laying on the shore, it feels good and right, and Finn is pretty sure Poe means it from the way he's kissing back. He hopes so, because Finn does.

He pulls away when he senses Poe's breathing is becoming more labored. He smiles as he runs his fingers along Poe's jaw; Poe is gazing at him with awe, and Finn is amazed at how genuine it is. Or maybe Poe really does have a concussion and won't remember any of it.

"I hope you remember this," Finn murmurs, and Poe smiles, leans forward to kiss him again, a short one this time.

"How could I forget?" he murmurs back.

"Oh, you know, couple of broken ribs," Finn points out. "Shock. Possible head injury from that fall you took into the river—"

"Wait," Poe sits up straighter. "Did you jump in after me?" he asks. "Off that cliff?"

"Of course I did," Finn tells him, before realizing his mistake when Poe smirks. "Rey and I both did. Mostly we were trying to get away."

"You wanted to kiss me," Poe says, and he nods to himself. "I knew it!"

"I was trying to save you!"

"So you could kiss me."

"It could have been Rey pulling you out of the water, you know," Finn tells him.

"You couldn't pay her enough credits to kiss me," Poe replies. "She thinks I'm a cocky, overrated g'nook." He shivers and looks around. "Where is Rey?"

Finn laughs softly, pulls Poe toward him and rubs his arms to try and warm him up. "Hopefully she's with the _Falcon_ by now, and they're on the way to pick us up."

"Good, because I'm cold," Poe says. "And tired. And sore." He pauses. "You should kiss me again, before they get here. It might help."

Finn laughs out loud, shakes his head as he hears the _Falcon_ nearby. "Too late, they're here. Come on, let's go."

He helps Poe stand, though Poe leans on him even more this time, and not by choice. He's badly injured and not only fighting to stay upright, but awake. The ship lands on top of the hill, and Finn guides Poe up the ramp and straight to the medical bunk, shouting to the cockpit that they're all right and ready to go. The ship takes off, and Poe is unusually silent as Finn helps him dry off, covers him with a blanket, and gives him something for the pain. BB-8 comes zooming in, whistling with concern as Poe assures the little droid he's okay.

"You sure you're all right?" Finn asks once they are settled.

Poe nods tiredly. "I will be. Thank you, for saving my life. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be fish food somewhere on that river."

Finn rolls his eyes. "No fish would want to eat you," he says, and Poe gives him a hurt look that makes Finn laugh. "I'm kidding," he says. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner. And that it was all for nothing. We didn't even get what we needed before the First Order showed up."

"Actually," Poe says, and he shakes his hips, like he's trying to get to his pockets. "I got the intel." He hands Finn a data chip. "Hopefully it's waterproof."

Finn stares at the chip, then at Poe, then back to the chip. Then he leans over and kisses Poe, enjoying it even more in the safety of the ship, knowing Poe is not only going to be okay, but somehow completed their mission. BB-8 whistles excitedly and spins in circles.

"Oh, you are so welcome," Poe murmurs when they are done.

Finn laughs. "Thanks. Now get some rest, okay? I'm going to see if this works." He stands to leave, but Poe reaches for his hand and holds tight.

"I'm going to remember this later," he says. "Unlike someone else in the room."

"Okay," says Finn. "I hope you do."

"And when I do, I'm going to kiss you again," Poe says. "And again. And maybe take you somewhere nice, though that's a bit difficult at our current location." He frowns. "But I'm going to remember. Promise."

Finn leans down and kisses him one more time. "Me too," he says. "And I'll remind you if you don't, okay? Get some rest. I'll check on you in a while."

Poe smiles and nods, and by the time Finn walks away, he suspects the other man is already asleep. He wonders what Poe is dreaming about, though he's probably better off not knowing. But he does hope Poe remembers what happened when he wakes up, and makes good on his promise.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> Because I was going to write the kiss/punch into an angsty fight, but realized it was probably too much. And because sometimes we need something lighthearted to offset the angst. So it goes here instead for mssrj_335. And yes, this is an unofficial sequel to another story, I Like Your Technique. Thank you for reading!


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